Cut the end off of each onion so it can sit flat in the bottom of a 6-quart oval slow cooker. Take care that all of the onions are of roughly the same "height" and you are leaving enough room in the slow cooker for the chicken.

Shove the lemons and garlic into the cavity of the chicken. Rub the chicken with canola or olive oil. Rub the spices into the skin of the chicken on all sides. Place on the bed of onions.

Cover and cook on low 8 hours or until the chicken is fully cooked. Remove from the slow cooker onto a cutting board. (I find these claws very helpful when it comes to wresting the chicken free of the slow cooker)

Allow to sit 5-10 minutes then carve.

Note: You really need an oval slow cooker for this one. A 6-quart oval should hold up to a 7-8 lb chicken and anything smaller.

My thoughts:

I know there are places where you can get a fully cooked, rotisserie chicken for less than what you could buy a whole, uncooked bird. However, they are usually on the smaller side and we like to buy our chickens at the farm store where there is not much financial incentive to buying rotisserie. On the other hand, who wants to roast a chicken in the oven all the time? It is certainly easy but if you are like me, there are times when you either a. don't want to heat up the house or b. have something else in the oven. Enter the fauxtisserie chicken. Made with no liquid but on a bed of onions so it isn't just sitting in its own fat for hours, it is just as flavorful as a store-bought chicken and requires virtually no fuss. No fuss! No muss! The skin isn't crisp like it is on a oven-roasted chicken but neither is the skin on the rotisserie chicken you snagged at Costco either. The spices seep into the meat, flavoring it, and the skin keeps it from drying out. This is the perfect chicken to serve as-is or to use in the place of cooked chicken in any recipe that calls for it. I actually like to make this when I am making something else for dinner or baking a cake or something so I know I have cooked chicken ready to go for lunches or dinner the next day.

Thanks, Rachel! I use whole chickens all the time, but usually just pop them in the oven or my BBQ Crockpot. Never thought to use a regular crockpot, and it's not like I don't have any to give me the idea... I have a 3 qt oval, a 5 qt round, and a 6 qt oval, plus tje BBQ Crockpot. This latter unit has Low and High like a regular crockpot, but always dry, so it cooks like a smoker without any smoke. Great when it's raining or too cold. Love the idea of setting the ckicken on the veggies, though I do that with briskets and chuck roasts I cook indoors.

Hi Rachel, I've been making chicken like this for a while now. I find the chicken comes out more moist than in the oven and my husband loves it. At first I got a lot of slack about the skin not being crisp but since it's not good for you anyway..... too bad.

Hi Rachel, I've been making chicken like this for a while now. I find the chicken comes out more moist than in the oven and my husband loves it. At first I got a lot of slack about the skin not being crisp but since it's not good for you anyway..... too bad.